There isn't democracy without human rights and there isn't human rights without democracy. Democracy means respect for civil and political rights for all. And when any of those rights were violated for no reason, justice means reparations for the victims. Each time I was a candidate my amount of votes were very below the expectations, and another candidate broke the record of votes. It's historic fact that anybody can't disagree. I'd like to thank everybody that undestand the importance to defend human rights, democracy and justice. Because of you all the worldwide movement for justice, democracy and my political rights is becoming stronger than ever. For the last two decades my life has been a daily struggle for justice, democracy and human rights. I have a YouTube channel, here is the link. https://www.youtube.com/@lucianofietto4773/videos. Since the creation of this channel its visualization counter doesn't work, the same has been happening with the counter of this blog since its creation in 2010. This post is a summary of the speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmer Stenergard at the celebration of International I.D.E.A.'s 30th anniversary on 12 June 2025, in Stockholm. https://www.government.se/speeches/2025/06/speech-by-minister-for-foreign-affairs-maria-malmer-stenergard-at-the-celebration-of-international-ideas-30th-anniversary/
Sweden has been a proud host country of International IDEA, and its largest donor of core support since IDEA's foundation. We are grateful for the partnership we have with the institute, and for the important work IDEA does for democracy around the world. In the mid-1990s, when IDEA was founded, there was a surge of new democracies around the globe. At the time, there was a widespread will and ambition to create a new, free and democratic world. Ever since, IDEA has played an important role to support and promote that ambition. In the past two decades, we have seen a global democratic decline and the rise of authoritarian leadership. According to the research institute Varieties of Democracy at Gothenburg University, more than 70% of the world's population now live in autocracies. But these numbers must not make us despair. Rather, they should be taken as a call for action, as we need to be more vigilant than ever in our cause to promote, protect and defend democracy. We must remember not to neglect our own democracies. In Sweden, we address democratic challenges daily and continuously review laws policies to strengthen our institutions, ensuring they are fit for the modern world. And beyond our borders our commiment to democracy remains firm. Support to democracy, human rights and the rule of law amounts to around 25% of all Swedish assistance. In light of recent developments in the world, we underline the importance for the E.U. to continue to defend and promote democracy. Democracy is not something that you have, it's something that you do, every day. Democracy is a summary of different verbs: vote, include, protect, respect, listen, engage, innovate. Let me list three ways how can further promote and defend our democracies. First, we need to demonstrate that democracy delivers for people. We know that democratic societies deliver better services and stronger economies than autocracies. It's also important to point out that democracy is not a western concept, and that democracy can take many different shapes and forms. In a world of information overload, we must be better at articulating and communicating the positive benefits of democray. International IDEA provides a platform for us to discuss how to do that more effectively. Second, the link between democracy and peace needs to be made clearer. Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine has again put the spotlight on the interconnectedness of security, democratic values and institutions. Ukraine's unwavering courage and resistance inspire us to stand up for our joint values and principles. Sweden will continue our support to Ukraine's fight for freedom, independence and democracy. Research show us that a more democratic world is a more peaceful world. Third, we need to provide democracy support where it's needed. In a time of budget cuts and rellocation of development aid, supporting actors and institutions that enable stronger democracies remain key. This includes supporting some of the fundamantal pillars of democracy, including free and fair elections. Independent electoral institutions such as the judicial system. A free and independent media climate. A vibrant and pluralistic civil society. Protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. Recent developments have shown that we can't take our freedom and democracy for granted. The threat to democracy is present in all our countries. We need to fight for it every day, because freedom is not free. I hope that all of us, who share the common belief in the value of democracy for the world and its people, will do what it takes.